COLUMBUS – Ohio Republicans plan to pass recreational marijuana reform by the end of June. Both the House and Senate are working together to create restrictions, which have drawn criticism from legalized marijuana supporters around the state.
Under the law passed by Ohio voters in November 2023, if you are 21 years old or older, you can smoke, vape, and ingest marijuana. Individually, you can grow six plants, but you can grow up to 12 plants per household if you live with others.
What is the latest with marijuana?
Right now, Ohio House and Senate leaders are negotiating for multi-chamber-approved cannabis reform.
“Generally, trying to get to a place that more people support,” House Finance Chair Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, said.
The lawmakers are trying to combine two bills: Senate Bill 56 and House Bill 160. Both make dozens of changes to cannabis access, but most notably, S.B. 56 limits THC content and reduces home growing to six plants, while H.B. 160 limits THC and keeps home growing the same.
Asked if Statehouse Republicans had come to an agreement yet, Stewart said “stay tuned.”
He added that he did like the House’s substitute bill — one that addressed the “desire in the caucus to have low-dose drinks.”
“I think that there are going to be some adjustments on the criminalization side that should hopefully address some of those concerns,” Stewart said.
Why did they really move to change the law?
That answer depends on who you ask.
Ohio Senate Republican leaders have continued to say that the voters knew they wanted legal weed — but the lawmakers claim that voters didn’t know everything they were voting on.
Stewart and House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, have echoed those claims.
“It’s obviously a complex issue growing out of the ’23 initiative and with the growth of the THC, hemp, and artificially created hemp products,” he said.
Huffman said he wanted to deal with delta 8, low-level THC products sold in convenience stores with no age limits first, as his “primary goal is regulating the sale of all these products, including getting them out of the stores where they’re accessible to minors.”
Ohio Democratic lawmakers, and some Republicans, disagree with Huffman, saying it’s about control.
“We want to make sure that the will of voters is protected,” House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, said. “We want to make sure that the use of that revenue is upheld.”
Read more at Ohio Capital Journal
